


Romance Survivor

by NotSoHotsuin



Category: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2
Genre: Best Friends, Comedy, Confessions, Daichi is treated fairly and nothing hurts, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, No Spoilers, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2018-12-06 12:30:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11600682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotSoHotsuin/pseuds/NotSoHotsuin
Summary: Hibiki gains a secret admirer who seems set on making him feel appreciated for an entire week.





	1. Day 1: Monday's Surprises

Valentine's day was not always a good day, but this year felt different. A lot of people seemed more engaged, and the girls were dropping subtle hints in all directions. None of them concerned Daichi because no girl was giving him the time of day. So, he mostly remained in the sidelines, observing other future couples from afar. Even if he was going to spend Valentine's day alone, he was glad that Hibiki was going to remain by his side. Both of them being dateless should have put a damper on things, but it was oddly comforting to know neither of them would get to celebrate the holiday.   
  
18 and he’d never kissed a girl.   
  
He told himself there were other things to live for.

They were about to leave the school when Hibiki stopped by his locker to get a few books. A small piece of paper was sticking out at its side, and almost fell to the floor when Hibiki unlocked it. He grabbed it just in time, and opened it up to see doodles on the inside along with some text. When Daichi noticed he was staring at it for a whole minute, he patted his shoulder.   
  


“Falling asleep here! C’mon, let’s go!”

“Uh… Daichi,” Hibiki hesitated for a moment, but took a second to read the note over carefully again. “...Is this a Valentine card?” Daichi leaned over to see the contents of the card, but only caught a small glimpse before Hibiki pulled it away. Typical. Then again, it was not like prying into someone’s earnest confession was a kind thing to do, so he let it slide.   
  
“Lucky you!”    
“...Lucky?” The confusion in Hibiki’s voice had him think his reply through again.   
“Yeah! W-well, I mean, not that luck’s got much to do with it, but hey congrats, someone likes you and stuff!”   
“It’s not Valentine's day yet, though. Isn’t this too early?” Daichi shrugged at the question.   
“What did the card say?”   
“Something about a week of appreciation? Do you know anything about this?” Hibiki wondered if it was just code for ‘Valentines day’. The letter might have been written by a shy person not to come off too strong. All things were considered, especially since the person did not leave their name attached, or even an alias.

“First time I’ve heard about it, dude.”  
“Hm… maybe it’s a custom from a different country.” Hibiki turned the card from side to side and checked out the golden writing that sparkled in the light. The paper was plain, but the thickness and edge of the lines in the writing gave the impression it was hand-made, rather than bought at a store.   
  


Daichi thanked every God that he never showed Hibiki he could do calligraphy. 


	2. Day 2: Childhood Memories

The week of appreciation was just as Daichi had explained it. A week of appreciation. As much as he wanted to impress a girl or woo someone, he did not really find anyone he liked enough to give it a go. Io did not like him, so she was out of the question. That much became obvious after the many interactions he tried to start with her, only for all of them to end in failure. When he heard Hibiki had not claimed any hearts, or gotten a single card, he felt compelled to do something for him. Valentines was for couples, but Hibiki was his best friend. It did not feel right not to do something nice for him.  
  


However, doing it on Valentines might give the wrong idea. That was why he changed the name. A single day was not going to give him enough time to tell Hibiki how much he appreciated his friendship anyways, so stretching it out over an entire week gave him much more to work with. The only problem was that his plans were only going to get increasingly harder to execute from this day on.   
  
“Hey, dude, can you go get me a soda from the cafeteria?” Right now, he was planning on using their teacher’s late arrival to his advantage by tricking Hibiki out of the room so he could drop a gift into his bag. Sounded simple enough. The only problem was that he was not prepared for Hibiki to turn him down.   
“You can have some of mine.” While Hibiki did not exactly turn him down, it did create a problem.

  
“Oh.” No one knew when their teacher would arrive, so there was not a second to lose. Daichi looked at the half empty bottle and then back at Hibiki before he took a hold of it and started chugging without pause. He forced the sweet liquid down his throat even if he was not too fond of the taste, or the feeling of bubbles scraping his throat unpleasantly at the speed he swallowed. He angled the bottle upwards to get every last drop, and did not dare breathe over the fear that he might cough. When he finished, he pulled away and forced his wrist against his lips to stop himself from throwing up what was left in his mouth. Once he swallowed everything, he breathed out, and placed the bottle next to Hibiki.   
  


“Yeah, no, still thirsty. Can you go get me that soda now?” He moved his wrist to cover his lips with the back of his palm. The tickling feeling in his throat was making his voice sound a little more airy. When no reply came within ten seconds, Daichi waved the bottle in front of Hibiki’s face.   
“...Sorry, what?” Hibiki seemed as if he zoned out.   
“A drink? Something not as sweet would be nice…”   
“Oh. Right. Sure.” Hibiki took a hold of the empty bottle so he could throw it away on his way out of the classroom. Daichi leaned back to check the exit and made sure his friend was gone before he took a hold of his backpack and slipped a small thin box into it. He zipped the bag shut and put it back the way it was not to raise suspicion. They sat at the back of class most of the time, so no one had the opportunity of seeing him act secretive with Hibiki’s belongings.   
  
“Heh, operation smooth and casual is going perfe-”   
“Daichi?”   
“Eep!” Had he not been holding onto his chair, he would have slipped and fallen off. Hibiki returned much quicker than he anticipated. Luckily, he had pulled away in time for Hibiki to remain oblivious.   
“Did something good happen while I was gone?”   
“W-why do you ask, hahaha?”   
“No reason. You just looked happy.” Hibiki reached out to hand him his drink. Daichi tried to ignore how pleasant it felt to accidentally bump into Hibiki’s fingers as he took a hold of the bottle. There was an aura about his best friend that just calmed his nerves.   
  


Hibiki did not open his bag at all during the rest of the school day, and Daichi’s patience was wearing thin once they reached the subway station to catch the earliest train. When they managed to get two seats, Daichi spoke up.

“Hey, can you hand me your math homework? I wanna compare notes.”

“Compare, or copy?”

“Don’t be like that! I don’t copy… everything.” Hibiki smiled in that familiar way only Hibiki could. Daichi always interpreted it as a smile reserved for someone close. His best friend really wasted no time making him feel special. The expression faded when Hibiki opened his backpack, and found the slim box.

“Daichi, did anyone… go through my bag when I left the classroom?” Daichi had these lines practiced, so saying them confidently was not as big a strain on him as improv was.

“Sorry, uh, that girl from Io’s class dropped by and-”

“Say no more.” Daichi let out an embarrassed breathy chuckle. He did not even have to explain himself completely on this one. It just sounded believable. The look on Hibiki’s face after he opened the wrapping however was absolutely worth all the trouble he went through to get the item, and the look of surprise when he read the note attached to it made it so much sweeter.   
  
_ ‘I heard this was your favorite album while growing up, but you never owned a copy. Well, now you do! You have no idea how obscure this was to find. It’s a used copy, but I tried it out and it works just fine. Have fun! (At a safe volume! Hopefully! I mean, do whatever you want but don’t break any laws!)’ _   
  
“Who…?” Hibiki looked at Daichi in a way Daichi could only describe as ‘priceless’. He tried to hold his mask, and managed much better than he first thought he would.   
“Did you put this here?” All up until Hibiki asked him that question. His voice might not have stuttered, but it lost its confident edge, and he leaned back in his seat.   
“What? Why would I do that? I’d just give it to you!” This was the only time his improv paid off. He silently put one point on the scoreboard for the Daichster at Hibiki’s silence.   
“Oh, um… I guess. It’s not like my taste in music is a secret. My other friends know about this too…” Although, Hibiki was growing a little worried over the fact only two girls knew of his taste in music, and one of them did not even attend the same school. Daichi leaned in closer with a grin on his face.   
“Hibiki, did you seriously forget other people exist?” Daichi caught the faint glow of pink around Hibiki’s cheeks before he got slapped with a familiar looking notebook.   
“Go read my math homework.”

 

The pitch in Hibiki’s voice sounded so modest compared to what it normally was, and Daichi leaned his head against his best friend's shoulder before completely pretending to understand any of the equations in his notebook.


	3. Day 3: Wednesday’s Mistake

Waking up and catching an earlier ride than Hibiki was something he could explain away easily without sounding odd. All he had to text Hibiki was that a girl gave him some attention and that he had to keep her company. “Sorry, buddy, I don’t make the rules, I just stand by them when they lean in my favor.” Sometimes, he felt awful using girls as excuses, but that was because Hibiki would not believe him if he bumped into any of their mutual male friends. Saying ‘girl’ was vague enough to fit because Hibiki barely knew the girls at their school, even the ones that actively tried to talk to him from time to time.

Daichi took the thirty extra minutes to open his bag and pull out a few flowers. He dropped the petals into the thin opening at the top of Hibiki’s locker before decorating the outside as well. Once he was done, he made sure to check that no traces were left on him, or in his bag. Checked once, twice, thrice, and now he was just being paranoid. He picked out blue flowers because of Hibiki’s eyecolor. The white were there to add contrast, but also because Hibiki’s favorite hoodie was white with blue streaks.

Daichi waited outside the school and ran towards Hibiki when he caught a glimpse of him. He started pulling him in, urging him to go check out his locker. Hibiki agreed to follow and ran alongside Daichi. When they arrived, he really did not know what to say. Once Hibiki opened the locker and petals came cascading down against him like an avalanche, he stepped back and checked his lock for another note, or some clue as to who was behind this. He placed his hands on his hips and stared up at the flowers coating the outside, and the petals that colored the inside. 

“...Well, this is going to be hard to clean.” Daichi had expected something different, but felt bad when he did not take Hibiki’s feelings into account. He was always so neat and organized. To see that his stunt only created more work for him was a little disappointing.

“Oh, um… I’ll help you clean if you want.”

“Why? It’s not your fault.”

“N-no, but I kind of ditched you this morning! Let me help!” Daichi crouched next to Hibiki to pick up the petals that had fallen to the floor. Hibiki paused his cleaning spree to look up at the flowers again.

“...Hey, Daichi, don’t flowers have meaning?” Suddenly, everything felt tense.   
“M-meaning?” Daichi thought stuff like meaning behind flowers was all made up. Hibiki quickly pulled up his phone and held it high in front of his face.   
“I’m googling it.”   
“H-how can you google it? You don’t even know its name!” The click of shutters was the new sound of horror.   
“I took a picture and ran it through the search engine. There we go! Periwinkle.”   
“Oh, God…” He calmed himself not to give anything away. There was no way he could find a flower with some horrible meaning, right? All flowers had some positive meaning. His luck was not the best, so it might just go south. Daichi kept his eyes on Hibiki at all cost. He needed to know how badly he messed up by not checking the meaning behind the flowers he bought.   
  
“Ah, here it is. Hmmm, my color is blue and white. Let’s see. It’s linked to good memories, achieving your dreams, everla-” Hibiki’s cheeks went red and he quickly put the phone in his pocket. It was over in such a flash that Daichi questioned whether or not he had even seen it take place.   
“Evarla- wha? Dude, don’t stop there!”   
“It doesn’t matter.” He laughed a little, and Daichi distinctly remembered Hibiki only laughed like this when he was under a lot of pressure. Whatever that flower said, it definitely made his cheeks heat up. The flushed expression was a nice fit with the blue shine in his eyes. It only got harder and harder to look away, especially with the way Hibiki smiled so shyly. When Hibiki placed his hands on Daichi’s to gather the petals he collected, Daichi’s wrist jerked at the touch, and petals came flying in all directions. The flowers ended up getting stuck in their hair.

“S-sorry! I was lost in thought!” Hibiki rolled his eyes and plucked the petals out of Daichi’s hair one by one. Eventually, he gave up on the tedious task altogether when he noticed there were too many to count, so he ran his fingers through brown locks and ruffled his friend’s hair until all petals came out, and Daichi cursed himself for letting out a small squeak at the touch. Hibiki’s fingers softly brushed against Daichi’s cheeks when he pulled away, and Daichi let out a breath he was unaware he was holding in the entire time.  
  
“I said,” Hibiki started, before Daichi could interrupt him again by throwing flowers around. “-they’re definitely coming on a little strong. I don’t even know who they are and already we’re at everlasting love.” The last two words seemed to have short circuited his brain, because he found himself talking when he should be keeping his mouth shut.   
“I-It might be someone you know!” That was not what he wanted to say. He was screaming at himself internally. Why these exact words were the first ones to cross his mind was something he did not want to think about. This was not on the script. He did not even have to say anything because Hibiki was not prodding him for answers, but he opened his mouth anyways and had to say something. Luckily, Hibiki did not catch on to the worry in his voice.  
  
“I don’t think so… The light blue periwinkle means the beginning of a long lasting friendship. I don’t think I know this person...” Daichi just wanted to go with some flowers that matched Hibiki, and now he was stuck with this to deal with. This might have been his worst mistake, or his best depending on how he planned on playing it. Hibiki was going to know who was behind all this eventually. It might just help the surprise along, and he could always explain the mistake later.  
  


However, the part about everlasting love made Daichi’s own cheeks feel hot.

  
Everlasting love did not sound all that bad when Hibiki said it.   



	4. Day 4: A Heartwarming Memento

As painful and tedious as it was to track down that strange cd, it was not half as hard as crafting something from scratch. Daichi excused himself to go to the restroom when the teacher paused her lecture, and made sure Hibiki was not following him. During this small lie, he walked over to his and Hibiki’s lockers to duct-tape something to the outside as quickly as possible. He was trying his best to be delicate, but he had to hurry not to rise suspicion. When a couple of girls walked by, he leaned his back against the locker, and thanked God for that extra centimeter in height that helped hide what it was he was doing. They finally turned the corner, giving him enough time to finish what he started.

It turned out sloppier than intended, but at least it would not fall off by accident. Returning to the classroom was easier than leaving. Hibiki was so absorbed in his studies that he barely kept track of time. When class finished and they needed to get their biology books, Daichi expected Hibiki to be amazed, but not blown away. His best friend was covering his mouth with both hands, and Daichi would have done a victory dance had Hibiki not caught on immediately.

“Oh my God, no way!”

“Oh, look, it's a tiny Hibi-jesus. Jibiki.” Hibiki flicked Daichi’s forehead as punishment for the lame joke, and Daichi was ashamed to admit that this part actually followed the script to a t, right down to the bible reference. The reason he made that joke was because he had to tape a giant T over the item to keep it clinging in one place. Hibiki pulled the key-chain loose and began examining the mini plushie of himself that Daichi made sure to recreate in as much detail as possible. Victory was sweeter when he realized Hibiki noticed his efforts.

“It has dots for the speakers inside my hoodie. Daichi, I-” Daichi wanted to come clean and admit it was his doing. The smile on his best friend’s face was making him feel giddy, and even the way Hibiki held the doll was making him grin widely. It was as if he was afraid to break it on accident by pulling the parts too hard. “Daichi, I can even pull the hoodie over his head, what the fuck?” He rarely heard Hibiki’s voice spike with excitement, and he usually never cursed, but it was delightful to hear him lose control every once in awhile.

“I have to know who they are, and why they’d spend so much time on this just to tell me they like me.” Daichi blamed the flowers for Hibiki’s interpretation, but felt warm at his words regardless of their meaning. It was not as if he did not like Hibiki. He did like Hibiki a lot, but the concept of everlasting love was-- not that far from the truth when he thought about it. There was no reason there could not be everlasting love between best friends. He knew for a fact that Hibiki would be his best friend through thick and thin, no matter what he did. If he allowed himself to be honest, he might even say he valued Hibiki more than anyone else. Seeing him so happy only made him more aware of it, and he wanted to preserve that happiness forever if he got the chance.

“You were down here and you didn’t see anything!?” Suddenly, the attention shifted to focus on him, and he raised his hands up to defend himself. Some things were just not as easily predictable, especially not when Hibiki was this excited about something as simple as a key-chain. Sure, it took a while to sow and had its charm, but Daichi thought he would save this reaction for the CD, and not his mediocre craftsmanship.

“W-whoa! Don’t blame me! I had class to get back to!” He felt pride when Hibiki placed his hands on his chest to shove him with frustration. Hibiki was smiling while pulling his black hair, a strange body language for someone who claimed to be thrilled to bits.

“This is so unfair. They’re driving me insane.” Daichi took a hold of Hibiki’s upper arms, and Hibiki took the opportunity to lean his forehead against Daichi’s shoulder. Hibiki’s hands were busy clinging to the small key-chain, while Daichi’s found themselves rubbing Hibiki’s back soothingly before shrugging.

“There, there?”

“I wonder who they are…” Daichi could not stop himself from smiling.  
  
“Really?”  
  
“I want to thank them properly.”

“Well… they did say it would last a week. Maybe they’ll see you on Sunday!” Hibiki pulled himself up to stand straight, and looked at Daichi with a serious expression.

“...Ha.” That felt so out of place that he had to ask. It seemed like a good idea in his head.

“Ha… what?”

“Ha, you’re right. They said seven, not six. They plan to see me on Sunday, too. Does this mean they know where I live?”

Shutting up sounded like an even better idea.


	5. Day 5: Wavering Resolve

Everything was going smoothly.   


Hibiki really loved all the small gifts. That was what worried him the most. Hibiki was having fun, and the worst possible outcome was for him to be disappointed with the identity of the secret admirer. Daichi feared for Hibiki to expect a girl, only to find out it was him all along. Perhaps the worst outcome was not finding out it was him, but that it was some joke. No, Hibiki had enough wits to know he would not put this much thought into a prank, even if he had pranked him before. Stretching valentines into seven days started to look more and more like a bad idea.  


“I can’t believe they’ve gone through so much trouble…” He really did not want Hibiki to be let down. That was why he was not saying anything. His most recent gift was something less obvious, but acted more as a sign of trust than anything. In-between Hibiki’s index finger and thumb rested a pin about the size of a coin with text engraved on it. He turned it from side to side, analyzing its appearance.  


“ _Player’s choice_ … what does that mean?” Daichi felt smug knowing the answer, but Hibiki was not going to find out, not even if he begged him. He dropped off another vague note at Hibiki’s locker when he had the chance. On this day, he planned on giving him anything he wanted. All Hibiki had to do was say the word, and he’d do it without argument. It was a symbol, but only one he could claim when he figured out who his secret admirer was.   
  
“Oh, um… how are you holding up? With this whole admirer thing?”   
“I love the gifts but… who could be sneaking them in? And what does this mean? I looked it up but it’s not a reference to anything as far as I know of, and I don’t think it has anything to do with video games.” That was partly true. The wordplay was inspired, but the point of it was to give up control and let the player decide his actions. He was prepared to do embarrassing things, but he really hoped Hibiki could practice some mercy after finding out who it was that planned this week. A part of him also hoped Hibiki would suggest something fun instead. Perhaps going out somewhere they normally would not go, or doing something they normally would not do. Daichi began wondering just why he was thinking of this so much, and why he considered this as a gift. It was not really romantic.   
  
He wanted to beat himself over the head when the word ‘romantic’ crossed his mind. This week was not supposed to be romantic. It was supposed to show support, trust, affection, and gratitude. It was not Valentine's day.

  
“I hope I won’t disappoint them.” Hibiki’s quiet mumbling helped him pull himself back into reality.   
“Disappoint them? How?”   
“I think I have to turn them down.” That was something Daichi considered, but hearing Hibiki imply it still made his heart ache. The fact he did not phrase it as an uncertain question made his statement feel more absolute, and it placed a heavy, sickly feeling over his chest.   
“...Ow.” Hibiki turned to look at Daichi.   
“You okay?” He felt a cold wind sweep through the hallway when he realized he spoke out loud.   
“I-I mean, ow! Uh, stubbed my toe.” Hibiki looked around, and saw no obstacles in the way for him to trip on.   
“On what?”   
“...M-my other toe.” When Hibiki looked puzzled, he tried to talk his way out of it once again. “I-I… stepped on my own foot. Yep. Don’t recommend it. It hurts.” There was no going back now. Why he even felt hurt at the remark was going to eat at him slowly. The flowers were a misunderstanding, yet he was thinking about it as if it were true. He had to admit that the thought of everlasting love really grew on him, but that was not the point of the week. It was not time to act selfish.   


“Be more careful next time, okay?”  
  
It suddenly felt as if he had to confess to more than he first bargained for. 


	6. Day 6: Yesterday’s Regret

Whatever feelings made themselves known were pushed aside. It was possible to like someone strongly without it having anything to do with the more romantic type of love. No matter how many times Daichi told himself yesterday’s moment of weakness was nothing but a selfish wish, he continued harping on it. Repeating ‘forget it’ was only having the opposite effect on him. In truth, how many friends did this for someone they cared for? Not enough, for sure.

 

Thoughts like those were unacceptable, and forced him to dissociate. It was hard to keep the act up when he had to go buy Hibiki chocolates. It was not because of Valentines, but because Hibiki was a very picky eater. He never put sugar in his tea, but he dipped thin chocolate squares into it and ate them alongside the tea. Unfortunately, their local shops stopped selling that specific brand, so Daichi took the train to a different part of the city just to get it for him. Sometimes he wondered how Hibiki managed without him. Then, he remembered that he would probably have some girl run his errands instead. It was still odd to know Hibiki did not get a single Valentine when he was clearly on good terms with both the girls and boys in their school.

 

They gathered around Hibiki’s locker at times after lunch when he had to come back and pick up his books, but Daichi was thankful no one was there now. It helped keep Hibiki’s reaction authentic, rather than restrained out of fear others were listening in on him. However, when he opened his locker, he looked completely indifferent.

  
“Chocolates?...” At least, until he saw the small green ribbon around the package, and the golden logo of his favorite brand. He examined the box from left to right, and Daichi was wondering whether he thought someone was trying to poison him. This felt odd. It was as if his best friend was doing math instead of pay attention to the gift. It was impossible for it not to fit his taste. Hibiki’s uncertainty had to come from elsewhere.    
  


“Yeah? Why is that surprising?” Hibiki held the chocolates in one hand before shutting his locker. He tapped the box against the metal lightly as his mind was putting the pieces together.    
“...You can’t shove these in through the top of the locker like flowers or a card. Whoever did this knew my locker’s code.” Hibiki turned to look at Daichi in a way that made Daichi feel as if a spotlight had just been dropped upon him, and the word ‘guilty’ was written straight on his forehead.   
  


“O-oh, u-um…”   
“I’m starting to think you’ve got something to do with this, Daich.” Daichi smiled, hopelessly trying to portray someone innocent, but his voice was only rising in pitch to further prove he was hiding something.   
“Pfhaha, come on now, y-you know me. I can’t even talk to girls. Why… Why would I help someone plan all this? Ha...Haha...”   
“Hm…” There was a crooked smile on Hibiki’s face, and Daichi worried he had figured it out before he had the chance to finish his master plan. Being caught so late was going to ruin the whole buildup so far. 

 

“Who else knows the combination to my locker?” That was it. Daichi knew he would mess up somewhere, but he had no clue he would mess up so close to the finish line. All he needed was one diversion to keep the secret hidden for just another 24 hours.   
“U-uhm!...I-Io?...” Hibiki’s confident expression softened, and he looked somewhat lost.    
“...Oh.”   
“Y-yeah! I-I mean… wait, huh?” That was a shot in the dark he did not think was going to hit anything. What shut him up was knowing that Io actually had the combination to Hibiki’s locker.   
“So… it’s Io?” For some reason, hearing Hibiki imply this sent shivers down his spine, but he was in no position to tell him he was wrong without coming clean.

  
“Um…” Daichi was considering telling him the truth, because this was not okay. It was not okay in the slightest. “W-wait, uh-”   
“Should I talk to her?”   
“N-no! That’s the worst thing you could do! I-I’ll talk to her! Friend to friend! Man to ma- woman! I’ll be your messenger!” He could not let Io know. He knew Io had feelings for Hibiki as well, and while Io was definitely not going to take credit for something he did, he knew she could always confess before he did and render all his efforts useless. When words like ‘had feelings for Hibiki as well’ and ‘confess’ began repeating in his head, he considered giving up at the sixth day. This started off as a nice way to show Hibiki how important he was to him, and instead it spiraled into an awkward self realization. He was too far in to deny it anymore.

  
“You sure?”   
“Y-yeah! I’ll tell her!” Hibiki smiled.   
“Tell her… what?”   
“U-um… that… she…” Daichi did not know how to stop, so he continued speaking in uneven pauses. “-That she is, uh…an… awesome... friend? T-that she shouldn’t open your locker without permission! Yes! I knew there was a good answer somewhere in my head just dying to get out!” The laugh from Hibiki told him he had voiced all his thoughts out loud. “O’kay, you can stop laughing now… please?”   
“I wonder what’s going to happen at the end of the week.”   
“What do you mean?”   
“Don’t you think she’ll want to talk?”   
“O-oh… Well, you’ll cross that bridge when you get there, right?” Hibiki seemed conflicted, so Daichi wrapped an arm around him and ruffled his hair playfully to take his mind off the gifts for a minute. No, it was mostly to take his mind off Io for far more than a minute.   
“Come on! Tomorrow you’re going out with me!”   
“I don’t remember agreeing to that.”   
“Man, I can not catch a break here! You’re going out with me. I call dibs. You can’t out-dib me, dude. I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.” Seeing Hibiki smile was always going to make him feel ridiculously giddy.   
“I guess I have no choice.”   
“Sweet! I promise you won’t regret it!”   
  
Hibiki might not, but Daichi hoped this was not something he would come to regret in the long run. 

  
Sunday was approaching.    



	7. Day 7: Sunday’s revelations

As promised, Daichi took care of the entire day. It started with breakfast at a small diner that made the most delicious pancakes, followed by a trip to the amusement park downtown. Hibiki wondered if this was all spontaneous or if Daichi had some secret plan in mind. For once, nothing went wrong, and Daichi thanked any and every entity out there for giving him a break. The sun was shining, flowers were blooming, and Daichi was ignoring all of it just to pay attention to Hibiki. The cotton candy was awfully sweet, but it was still custom to get upset with Hibiki when he mooched food off his share. Daichi ended up giving up all food rights to Hibiki for the day. He loved sweets, but he loved Hibiki more.

 

After the amusement park came the movies, and Hibiki wondered if Daichi was going to let him pick or if he already had something in store. It turned out that Hibiki was the one to pick the movies. For curiosity’s sake, he picked one he knew Daichi would not want to see, which Daichi caught onto and told him to be serious. Instead of picking something intense, they went for something lighthearted. It was a new comedy, but the actors and producer did such a bad job of putting it together that it was being called one of the worst modern films considering its high budget. They decided to see it just to laugh at how awful it was. Unsurprisingly, the room showing this movie was almost completely empty save one or two kids in the very front with their parents. This allowed them to be as loud as they wanted- not that Daichi needed permission to be loud, that came naturally.

 

Daichi wondered how Hibiki could still eat both of their popcorn, chocolates, soda, and have the appetite to ask for more food. They had more to do after the movie, but since Hibiki was somehow still hungry, Daichi decided to pull him back to his place to finish the day off. His mother worked late on sundays, and his father was outside the country for the entire week on a business trip. That meant they had all the privacy they needed, and Daichi was going to use up all of it.

 

After their meal had settled, they got around to playing some games. Night fell soon enough, and Daichi realized he may have wasted all his valuable time. It was monday tomorrow, and Hibiki had to go home at a reasonable hour. They did not live that far apart, but he did not like the idea of Hibiki walking around outside in the middle of the night. Daichi could see Hibiki’s house just down the street out his bedroom window, but it was still not a safe distance. Their parents would probably agree. When Hibiki waved him goodbye, Daichi forced himself between the door of his bedroom and his best friend.

 

“W-wait! I have something I have to tell you!” Hibiki tried to tell him they could deal with it tomorrow, but Daichi only sat him down on his bed to talk. From the looks of it, Hibiki thought he did something wrong. Daichi stood in front of him, trying to brace himself to come clean. Even if he had a script, one look at Hibiki made him forget all about it, and he grew incredibly ashamed of how he completely blanked on what to say.

 

“T-the flowers were a mistake! B-before you say anything!” Hibiki did not look as if he had pieced anything together yet, so Daichi became a little more blunt. He took a seat next to Hibiki and smiled.

 

“Happy Valentine and all that jazz! N-no wait, that didn’t sound right at all, let me start over-” He playfully nudged Hibiki’s shoulder and laughed nervously when he accidentally called it Valentines.

 

“Happy week of appreciation! Kinda! Maybe! I swear I had everything planned. Even this part! As ridiculous as it sounds…” Daichi had no clue if Hibiki knew what he was talking about, because he seemed absolutely out of it.

“P-please say something… a-anything will do.” He was poor at reading these rare expressions, but from what he could tell, Hibiki looked relieved. The smile now evident on his lips forced Daichi to look away.    
  
Alright, Hibiki was not disappointed or mad. So far, none of the worst case scenarios had taken place, and he counted backwards from ten to calm his racing heart. It worked smoothly until he felt something soft against his cheek. Hibiki had leaned in to kiss him. It was brief, but left Daichi feeling bizarrely tingly. He would normally have been startled and tensed up, but he felt oddly at peace. Daichi lightly let his fingers rest over the area when Hibiki moved away. He knew how laughable it was for him to try and hide his face after something like this, but he could not let Hibiki see him all flushed and embarrassed. What worried him most was the implication of the cheek kiss, and if Hibiki meant for it to be romantic.   
  
“U-um, I-Is this good? Bad? What does a cheek kiss mean?” Silently, he was cheering that he got to know what Hibiki’s kisses felt like. He wanted to know why Hibiki had kissed him, but blissfully reveling in the touch canceled out any effort to figure out why Hibiki would approach him like that.   
“Oh,” Hibiki grinned, but Daichi did not have the fortune of seeing it. Somehow, he could still tell Hibiki was smiling at him. “-I thought it was obvious.”   
“G-great, now explain it to me… slowly.” Hibiki turned his head, and wrapped one arm around Daichi’s waist to hold him close. 

 

“So… you want nothing in return for all this?”

“K-kinda just don’t want you to tell anyone about it because it… I know, it’s stupid. Valentines is only supposed to be for couples. Best friends don’t count.” He felt Hibiki’s warm lips press against his cheek again, and he tensed up. “But… I… didn’t want to give gifts to anyone else, so I-...” He let out a small high pitched cry when Hibiki’s hands squeezed his shoulders softly and his lips pressed against his cheek again. His voice was starting to grow all the more unsteady, and he was wondering if Hibiki took notice to it.

 

“-s-so I picked you… I… I really didn’t mean to- ah!” The feeling of Hibiki’s hot breath against his neck was starting to make him question if the cheek kiss was as innocent as he first thought it was. He trembled and allowed his body to lean against Hibiki’s for support so he could close his eyes.

“Didn’t mean to… what?” Hibiki was asking him to keep going, and that was something Daichi could not promise to deliver on. He could talk, but it would not be coherent at all. However, at Hibiki’s request, he was willing to try again and again, regardless of how disoriented he felt, or how distracting Hibiki’s lips were.

 

“Mngh… I didn’t mean to- ah, Hibiki, what are you doing? T-this…” This made him feel weird on the inside, but no part of him wanted Hibiki to stop. His voice wavered and raised in pitch when he reached the end of his sentence. He tried so desperately to keep himself from making a lot of noise, but Hibiki seemed to be trying his best to get him to stutter during his speech. His cheeks were burning, and his breath hitched at the smallest squeeze Hibiki placed against his shoulders.

 

“You know, there is a way for both of us to celebrate valentine's together…” Hibiki breathed a soft gust of air into Daichi’s ear before kissing his earlobe.

“H-Hibiki…”

“Mhm?”

“N-no-not that I mind but, y-you, um… you’re making me-”

“Hot?” Daichi tried to choke down the noise at the back of his throat. No, Hibiki was not making him hot. He tried to hold that thought as Hibiki ran his palm up his thigh. All composure was lost when Hibiki’s hand curved inward and he leaned his forehead against Daichi’s to rub their noses together. 

 

Alright, Hibiki was making him hot, but he was not going to admit it out loud.

 

“Daichi, can I be honest?” Daichi hummed weakly. It was all he managed to get out as long as Hibiki kept his hand on his thigh.

“I’m really happy it was you.”

“Y...you are?”

“Yes. I know you don’t like math but how about putting two and two together?” Daichi tried to understand the tone of Hibiki’s words. He could not believe Hibiki was touching him like this, or even talking to him as if he should not be surprised about it. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips at his joke, and all Daichi had to ask in return was whether or not this was something Hibiki wanted.

“Are you sure?”

“Daichi,” Hibiki chuckled and cupped his cheek to hold him close. “I’m really happy it was you.”

 

“I...” Hibiki leaned in to place a kiss at the corner of Daichi’s lips. The feeling of Hibiki so close to him made his entire face heat up. 

“Hibiki, I-” He could not think with Hibiki this near, and he could not stop himself from turning his head to find out what those lips tasted like.

 

He shyly let his lips brush over Hibiki’s only for a second or two before Hibiki took the initiative and allowed their second kiss to linger. The euphoria and freedom at the touch erased everything else but Hibiki from his mind. The longer Daichi remained in Hibiki’s arms, the hotter his cheeks felt, and the easier it was to lose track of time. All he could think of was the sweet taste of Hibiki’s lips on his, and the way Hibiki moved his fingers through his brown hair. He was not sure if it was the air, but he cocked his head slightly and parted his lips to carefully run the tip of his tongue over Hibiki’s lower lip. Hibiki let his own tongue brush over Daichi’s and sighed with content at the heat between them. He imagined kissing but never thought it would feel like this. 

 

Hibiki’s pleased hums gave him the confidence to move his hands over his chest, and this was one of the few times Daichi wished Hibiki was wearing his school uniform so he could easily sneak his hands underneath his shirt. Hibiki guided Daichi’s hands down to his hips before cupping his cheeks and erasing any shyness still present in their kiss. 

 

Hibiki leaned against Daichi so much that Daichi fell back against the mattress and pulled Hibiki over himself. There was a playful chuckle in Hibiki’s voice when he parted his lips to breathe.

“So, what did the player’s choice pin mean?” Daichi moved his hands to the back of Hibiki’s neck to pull him back in for another kiss.

“Can’t talk. Kissing.” The short reply earned him another chuckle.

“Tell me.”

“It means…” The meaning behind the pin was still unknown. Daichi could get out of it by claiming the meaning behind it was different than he originally intended it to be. It was worrying to give Hibiki full control over him- to give him the freedom to demand anything from him without limits. Having Hibiki take charge was always going to make him a little nervous because of how unpredictable his friend could be, but Daichi could not hide his true intentions when he saw that familiar smile. Something about the way Hibiki looked at him made him feel safe. 

 

“It means whatever you want it to mean.” The smile on Hibiki’s features soon faded.

“What?”

“You get to tell me to do something. Anything. Pick whatever you want.” He brought his hand up as if to stop Hibiki from interrupting him. “But, uh, please don’t make it too… embarrassing. I have to go back to school at some point.”

“...So, you’ll do anything I say?”

“Just one thing.”

“Anything?” Hibiki seemed so lost that Daichi had to repeat himself.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Yeah? It’s fine. Oh, as long as it’s legal and stuff. I love ya, man, but I’m not gonna go steal a flat-screen TV for you. I’m 18, now. They’ll lock me up for it.”

 

“Hmmm…” Hibiki ran his hands over Daichi’s chest and let his finger thread through the small opening between the buttons of his shirt. “Could you…” Hibiki leaned down to whisper, and Daichi let his fingers curl around Hibiki’s upper arms to hold him tighter. When Hibiki finished placing his request, Daichi felt the heat return to his cheeks, and looked away.

 

“Y-you… don’t have to use the request for that…”

“Will you let me request it?”

“I did say anything but…” Daichi reached out to cup Hibiki’s cheek, but hesitated. Hibiki responded by leaning his cheek against Daichi’s hand, encouraging him to be more bold. “-b-but um… I’m not sure how ‘don’t move’ is doing anything. I’ll do it, but it seems like the opposite of what I wanted you t-” As soon as he agreed to it, Hibiki pressed his lips against his to stop him from stalling.

 

Daichi barely managed to understand what was happening, or how quickly time passed when he had his eyes closed. Hibiki went from kissing his neck to kissing his bare chest, and Daichi was too wrapped up in the feeling of Hibiki’s lips burning against his skin to think about when Hibiki had unbuttoned his shirt.

 

“Hey, Daichi,” He hummed, hands squeezing Hibiki’s shoulders for what seemed to be the thousandth time today.  “-happy Valentines Day.” 

 

There was no point correcting Hibiki.

 

Valentines was for couples, after all.


End file.
